No impact of India-Pakistan tensions on Benapole-Petrapole Port
DHAKA : The ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan has had no impact on operations at the Benapole-Petrapole land port. Both import-export activities and the movement of passport holders between the two countries continue as usual.
However, the Border Security Force (BSF) has reportedly intensified security measures and is conducting searches on suspicious individuals along the border, Bangla Tribune reports.
On Wednesday, cross-border travel of passport holders began at 6:30am as scheduled and import-export activities commenced at 9am.
Approximately 200 passengers traveled between the two countries from morning to 1pm, while around 230 trucks transported goods through the Benapole-Petrapole port during the same time frame.
Several travelers from India reported that BSF surveillance has increased, with passengers’ luggage and suspicious individuals being thoroughly searched at the border.
Meanwhile, import-export operations at the port are facing disruptions due to technical issues with the online link system at India’s Petrapole customs and port offices.
Although only 150 and 34 trucks of goods were imported on Saturday and Sunday respectively, the numbers increased to 332 and 431 trucks on Monday and Tuesday.
From Saturday to Tuesday, a total of 596 trucks were used to export goods to India via Benapole port.
Kartik Chakraborty, general secretary of the Petrapole Clearing Agents’ Staff Welfare Association, said that problems in the Petrapole customs server have caused the current disruption.
Despite discussions with relevant departments, the issue remains unresolved, leading to a significant decline in trade volume since April 28.
This has resulted in daily losses amounting to crores of rupees, prompting an appeal to Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for a prompt resolution.
He further mentioned that since Saturday, only perishable goods are being processed online, with limited operations being conducted through tablets using Wi-Fi as a temporary measure.
Benapole Port Director Shamim Hossain confirmed that trade and passenger movement between Bangladesh and India remain normal, with around 200 travelers crossing the border from morning till early afternoon.
Revenue Officer Abu Taher of the Benapole Customs Cargo Section added that around 230 trucks passed through the port from 9am to 1pm on Wednesday.
However, due to the internet outage at Petrapole, their customs office is unable to operate the online system.
As an alternative, minimal processing is being conducted using Wi-Fi-enabled tablets.
The currently arriving trucks had been pre-registered under the earlier online system, with only a limited number of new consignments being processed online at present.